Machine for making felt pads.



n. w. ANDERSON. MACHINE FOR MAKING FELT PADS.

APPLICATION FILED Ami-4.22, 1914.

1,177,293. Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

d2; ibawi fi? (1110640010 4% 65 I W I EM I PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON D c D. W. ANDERSON. MACHINE FOR MAKING FE LT PADS.-

APPLICATION FILED AUG-22.1914.

1,177,293. Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

11 JM W 'r COLUMBlA PLMjoGRAPH 60.. WASHINGTON D t UNITED onnionj DAVID whnnnnson, or LA FAYETTE, INDIANA.

' MACHINE FOR MAKING FELT Pans.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 22, 1914; Serial No. 858,079. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID W. ANDERSON, a citizen, of the United States, residing at La Fayette, in the county of Tippecanoe and State. of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ma.-

chines for Making Felt Pads, of which the caved bodies of felt or other flexiblesubstances I have illustrated and described a method whereby such articles may readily be formed from a. flat strip of felt or similar material.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide a machine forautomatically manufacturing pads by the method described in my above referred to application.

In carrying out my method of making convexed or concaved bodies of felt or like material, two principal operations are involved; first, the formation of a node in the material and; second, the scalping orcutting off ofrthe node In performing these operations by an automatic machine, a third operation, namely, the feedingof the goods is necessary, and my machine may therefore be said to provide mechanism for performing three operations; firstthe forming of a node or bend in the material from which the pad is to be formed; secondthe scalping or cutting off of the node; and third-the feeding forward of the material to present a fresh piece of goods to the bend forming mechanism. My

machine provides a simple and efficient.

mechanism for automatically producing such pads rapidly, easily and with great uniformity without requiring any attention from an operator other than the starting of the stock or strip of material into the feeding mechanism.

Whereas, in the following specification j and claims I refer particularly to felt as the i preferred material from which the above described pads areformed, it will be understood that any other material of flexible, somewhat resilient nature having Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

fibrous toughness, elasticity, and lack of grain-may be used to advantage in my machine. And, whereas I have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of my nvention adapted for forming bunion or corn shields, shoefillings and the like it is obvious that, changes'may be made in the mechanism, or the machine may be used. for formlng shaped bodies for other pur-' poses, and 'still. be within the spirit andscope of my invention.

In the accompanying drawing wherein I have illustrated a practical and simple machine embodying my invention; Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through my pad forming machine. Fig. 2

is a plan view, Fig. 3"is a transverse, ver-:

tical sectional view. on line 33 of Fig.1. Fig. dis a perspective view of-the feed mechanism. Fig.5 is a pseudo diagram matic section representing the manner in which the pads are cut from'a stripof felt.

In the drawings A andB indicate in general the two vertical, parallel side members of themachine frame joined together by.

the tie-rods 10. The side frames each comprise vertical posts 11 and 12 joined by,

bars 13, 14, and 15. A work supporting table 16 is secured between the vertical side members A and B upon the upper cross, bars 15, an extension 17 being provided to receive thematerial to be operated upon and an inclined chute 18, extending from the opposite end of the table receives the material after it has been acted upon, and

the pads cut therefrom. A downwardly extending'head 19 is formed near the center of; the table and'is provided with an, opening 20 through which is guidedly re.- ciprocatedthe node forming plunger 21. As

a further guide for the I, plunger .21. two transverse pieces 22-22'extend between the side members A and Band are secured to I the central cross bars-14. Y Above the work receiving table and vertically spaced therefrom to provide a passage forthe goods'is a cross piece 23. mounted f upon the upper edgesof the two side walls 24 and 25. This cross piece 23fcarries a forwardly extending pair of lugs 26 between which is pivotally mounted a drag foot 27 h lower e 9? Wh eare a chpressed by the spring 29 downward into the path of the gcocls thereby sufficiently tensicning the same for proper operation. A' plate like forward extension 30 of the cross bar 23 is provided with two transverse slots 31-31 in which areslidably adjusted the two edge guides 32-32.

The rear face of the cross bar 23 is slotted at 33 to receive the forward edge of the female die 34which is secured at its opposite ends by means of screws 35 or other fastening means, to the vertical spacing walls. The female die34: is provided with an opening 36 beveled off at its under edges and of a shaperegular or irregular in outlineadapted to form the particular size pad to be madeby its cooperation with the male die 37 carried on the upper end of the plunger 21. Both dies are made readily interchangeable so that the machine may be quickly and easily adapted for manufacturing pads of difierent sizes and shapes. The male die 37, it will be understood is of similar shape, in plan, to the aperture of the female die, and in elevation said male die or former is shaped convexly, in substantial accordance with the desired elevation of the the cutting knife. The scalping or cutting knife inthis embodiment of my invention comprises a sharpened disk 42 carried upon the lower end of the vertically arranged shaft 43 driven by'the motor 44 the entire -mech'anism being carried upon the slidable bridge or carriage 45, the lower or downward extending legs 46 of which engage in the slotted guide ways 47. Thispermits aneasy sliding motion of the knife forward across the top of the female die 34, to scalp a presented node; and rearwardly out of the way, vwhen the goods are fedforthe ne-Xt operation. The rotary knife-will cut 7 thefibrous material clearly, making its out,

of course ina horizontal plane, an'd'I find in practice thatany cutter employed should be given a sawing or saw-cutting acticn, rather-than a chopping action or a planing action as-the felt is highly resistant to severance by a chopping? or planing cut.

The feeding mechanism comprises two flat feed jaws 48 and 49. the upper one of which has'laterallv projecting shoulders 50 which engage in the slots 51 providing a supportand a guide therefor. The lower jaw 49 slides within a depression 52 in-the Work V table 16. The two jaws are oined together tion with the frame, whereas the lower-jaw" is free to drop away from the 'goods, and release the same. ment of the tongs the jaws are drawn together, securely gripping the material and advancing it a predetermined distance for presentation of afreshpart of the strip to the node forming apparatus. The feed structure may, of course, be varied in specific embodiment, but-that which I have described is positive in action and simple inconstruction.

The proper sequential operation of the node forming mechanism, the scalping tool and the feed mechanism may of course be ob-- tamed in a varlety of ways, but as .a slmple:

and efficient methodof carrying out my invention I have illustrated a pairoflevers operated upon by a single continuously rotating cam, 55. transverse shaft 56 j ournaled at- 57- 57 upon the lower bars 13 of the two side members A and B. An electric' motor 58 car-' ried by the machine frame; supplies power to the shaft through the reduction gearing 58.

A forwardly extending lever 59 is securedat its rear end upon .a transverse rod 60,:

journaled at its ends upon the side frames A and B adjacent the intersection offithe lower cross bars 13 and the vertical posts 12; At the forward end Of' the lever 59 it'is On the rearward move- This cam is-carried by'a pivotally connected with the plunger 21 through'the medium of a yielding pitman 61 whereby theplunger is given a yieldingly:

vertical movementas the roller 62 carried part of the cam 55.

A"transverse' shaft 63 is journaled near:

its ends in the brackets 6%64 which depend from the cross bars 14.-'14 andca-rries near its center a downwardly extending arm 65' which carries a roller 66 positioned to' engage the cam 55 at approximately'90- degrees from the roller '62. extending rods or arms 67 are secured at their lower ends to-the ends of the shaft 631 and are connected I at their upper ends:

through the medium, of the links 68 to. the sliding knife carrying bridge 45: Coil of the arms rearwardlyuwhen not influenced by the cam. A short distance below theupperends of the arms 67 a transverse rod 69 joins Two upwardly.

the engagement of the rod 69v with the forward face of the slot 70 always insures the jaws moving forward to a predetermined point, their rearward or feeding movement may be adjusted by means of the screw 71 for any desired distance, depending on the size of pad cut from the strip.

I have shown in this machine a cam hav-.

ing an elevated portion extending through approximately 90 degrees, the surface be- 111g curved inwardly from the ends of the raised portion to provide easy and free movement of the cam engaging rollers from the lower points to the raised points. It is obvious from the above description that as the cam rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 the arm 59 will first be raised throwing upward the plunger 21 and through the medium of the male die 27'force a node of the goods through the female die 34:. While the roller the proper feeding through the machine of the felt strip and prepares it for the next raise of the plunger 21 and subsequent cutting out of another pad. 1

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated pseudo-diagrammatically the operation of the instrumentalities upon a strip of felt. A portion of the stock, as the felt strip 80 illustrated, of suitable thiclmess, is fed over the goods supporting table 16 and on the upward move ment of the plunger 21 pushes through the female die 34 a tensioned node or bend 81 projecting above the upper surface of the die 34. Such node will have the plan contour defined by the female die, and a convex elevation corresponding nearly with the elevation of the male die. The node of material will be clamped between the male and female dies and its fibers will be put under considerable tension. Thus the felt is presented in a fashion that best prepares it for cutting. Stretched taut over the male die, clamped throughout all (or in any event a very considerable portion of) its perimeter by the female-die-edge, and held still with reference to these co-aoting work-presenting members, the felt cannot slip, or

yield, or buckle, or bunch up, when the cutting is effected, and the edges of the female die give such clear, sharp definition of the pad-shape that the cutting operation may sever a perfectly formed, accuratelyedged pad. WVhile the node is thus heldor fixed in its tense condition, the cut is made, by a relative movement of the cutting instrumentality and the work-holding instrumentalities, there being, preferably, no

change in'the relation ofthe parts of the work holding means until the out is completed. The scalping knife 42 then moves across the upper surface ofthe female die severing the pad 83 from the body of the goods with its effective sawing action. This gives to the severed body by reason of its resiliency and the tension under which the fibers are placed during the formation of the node a plano-convex shape as indicated by the severed piece 84, resembling in general conformation the shape of the upper end of die 37 carried by the plunger 21. The severed body of material tends by reason of its resiliency to return to its initial condition as to tension and therefore reverses, when severance is completed. That is the severed articles take the shape the reverse of that which was imposed on the stock by the bending operation that presented the node to the actionof the cutter, the curved node surface springing back to its original shape, planar or otherwise, and the cut surface assuming a convex form- As far as I am aware my machine is the firstever produced to successfully skive felt in the manner described for the formation of convex pads, audit will be understood that except as expressed in the claims I do not limit my invention to the precise embodiment that I have herein illustrated for purposes of full disclosure.

' I claim scribed for making'convexed or concaved bodies of felt or similar elastic material, the

combination of meansfor bending a piece 0f materlal into a node, and saw-cutting means for scalping the node.

2. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of means for presenting atensioned node of elastic fibrous material and saw-cutting means for scalping said node while under tension, to permit reversal of the severed pad.

3. In a mechanism for making convexed or concaved bodies of elastic material, the combination of a die having an aperture terial through the die, to form a node, and means for scalping the node.

1. In a mechanism for making convexed 0.1 concaved bodies of elastic material, the

therein, means for protruding a piece of macombination of a die having an aperture therein, a male die adapted to cooperate- .With the opening in the first die, means for moving one of said dies to project a piece of .material through the aperture to form a that of the body to be formed, means for relatively moving the two dies to project a portion of material through the said aperture, and means for scalping the material projecting through the opening.

6. In a mechanism for making convexec or concaved bodies of felt or the like, the.

combination of a planar die having an opening therein, a male die adapted to cooperate with the planar die and project a node of goods therethrough, and means for scalping the said node substantially at the surface of the planar die.

7. In a mechanism for making convexed or concaved bodies of elastic material, the combination of cooperating dies for forming a tensioned node in the material, and sawcutting means for scalping the node While under tension.

8. In a mechanism for making convexed or concaved bodies of felt or the like, the combination of means for forming a node in the goods, saw-cutting means for scalping the node while under tension, and means for feeding the material to present a fresh piece of material to the node former.

9. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a node forming mechanism, a saw-cutting scalping mechanism,feed mechanism, and automatic means for actuating the said mechanisms in proper sequential order.

10. In a mechanism for making convexed or concaved bodies of elastic material, the

combination of cooperating diesfor forming a tensioned node in the material, saw-cutting Copies of this patent may be obtained for means for scalpingthe node While under tension, and means for operating said node.

forming means and scalping means in proper sequentlal order.

11. In a-machine of the character de-.

scribed, .a planar apertured die, a table therebelow, a male die WorkingupWard past the table to present a tensioned materials node through the die-aperture, a cutter;

working above and parallel With the planar and Working the feed.

12. In a machine of the character de scribed, a planar apertured die, a table therebelow, a male die workingupward past the table to present a tensioned materialsnode through the die-aperture, acutter Working above and parallelwith the planar die, a fabric feed mechanism, and automatic 70 operating means forsequentially raisingthe male die, moving the cutter, lower in, the

male die and Workingthe feed.

13. In a machine ofthecharacter described, the combination ofa sawing-cutter, I

means to one side of the cutting plane of said cutterfor presenting a tensed, clamped portion of flexible fibrous material, as felt or the like, past the cutter plane, and means for operating the cutter'to sever the said portion. V

1a. In a machine ofthe character described, the combination of a sawing cutter, means to one side of thecutting plane for protruding a fixed, clamped node of flexible fibrous material, asfelt or the like, past the cutter-plane, and means to relatively move said parts that the-cutter, may scalp the node.

In testimony whereofjl hereunto set my hand in the presence-of tWo subscribing wit-f nesses. I i

H DAVID WA nERsoN. In the presence ofi VINCE P.1Doonnr,

B. W. -PHILLIPS.

five cents each, by-addressing; the "Commissioner of ZPate11ts, Washington, D. C." V v. t i 

